Shopping for an affordable first car but don’t want to settle for a tired banger that’s going to cost you hundreds in repair bills every month?

Personal Contract Hire – also known as leasing – means that running a brand-new car has never been so affordable. Monthly payments of less than £100 and an upfront payment of around £500 is enough to get you into a shiny new car.

Don’t think that you’ll be stuck with just two drab models to choose from either, because there are plenty of appealing machines on offer for much less than you might think. As you have to hand the car back at the end of the contract with leasing, though, you’ll need to stick to a pre-agreed mileage limit and keep the car in good condition to avoid any additional charges when you give the keys back.

With a brand-new SEAT Ibiza set to arrive in July, there are some great deals available on the current car – whether you’re looking to pay cash or use finance – making it a fantastic first car.

In fact, the offers are so good that the Ibiza SC 1.2 TSI 90 SE could be the UK’s cheapest new car to lease – at £90 per month with a low £540 upfront payment. All this despite being nippy, economical and stylish with a turbocharged petrol engine – and costing more than twice as much as Britain’s cheapest car, the very basic £5,995 Dacia Sandero.

Run the car for four years and you’ll have spent just £4,769 in total – just over a third of the list price – making this a great value way to run the £13,105 SEAT. In comparison the most basic Dacia Sandero will set you back £5,679 over four years – barely less than the list price – despite you not owning the car at the end of the contract.

If you’re after something a bit smaller, you can get a Toyota Aygo city car for the same monthly payment with upfront costs of £810. As with the Ibiza you get a useful 8,000-mile annual allowance – much better than the 5,000 or 6,000 of some other contracts – all with the added benefit of five doors, making the rear seats much more usable.

With claimed fuel economy of 68.9mpg the Aygo shouldn’t cost you much in fuel either, though it is down on power compared with the SEAT above. As a result the 0-62mph sprint takes a lengthy 14.2 seconds, making the Aygo more suitable for town driving than faster roads.

Cars don’t come much smaller than the Smart Fortwo and they don’t come much cheaper either. Monthly payments of just £95 could get you the keys to this stylish two-seater city car on a two-year contract – though the upfront payment is a little bit steep at just under £1,100.

An allowance of 10,000 miles per year means that, unless you regularly undertake long journeys, you shouldn’t have to worry about excess mileage charges. Also, with a two-year contract you get to switch to a new car sooner than with the other cars in our lineup.

Monthly cost: £95 (23 payments)

Upfront payment: £1,092 (including £239 processing fee)

Contract length: 24 months

Total amount payable by customer to rent car: £3,272

Cash price: £11,370

Mileage allowance: 10,000 miles per year

Want to find out more about car finance? Take a look at the stories below:

This might be the most basic version of the Fiat 500, but one thing it doesn’t skimp on is style. With characterful retro looks and monthly payments of just £97 on a four-year contract – along with an £877 upfront payment – you’d pay less than half of this 500’s list price in total to drive one for four years.

With just three doors and a small boot the 500 isn’t the most practical car on the market, but where it excels is in providing maximum smiles for the minimum price. The 8,000-mile-per-year limit is better than many for the money, too, meaning that you shouldn’t have to worry too much about chalking up excess mileage charges.

As with the SEAT Ibiza above, this Kia Picanto has just been superseded. However, the current version still looks cute and modern and in this trim includes the essential air conditioning as standard.

Monthly payments for this car are low at just £98 over four years, but you’ll have to stick to 5,000 miles per year and put down a substantial £1,030 up front with this deal. As a result, it can’t quite match the super value SEAT Ibiza offer above for sheer bang per buck.

If you fancy a compact five-door but don’t like the looks of the Toyota Aygo above, the 108 could be the answer, as it shares its engine and much of its underpinnings with the Japanese car.

As a result, you get the same super-economical 1.0-litre motor – good for claimed economy of 68.9mpg – and benefit from £0 road tax (for cars registered before April 2017). This 108 offer might cost £10 more per month than the Aygo above, but in exchange you get metallic paint thrown in, meaning you can simply choose the car that looks best to you.